A 'mere' break-in yet police swoop en masse to crawl all over house. (Well, it was the chief constable's)

Clearly, the unsuspecting thieves who chose to burgle the home of Mr and Mrs Strang in Murrayfield did not check out the owner's occupation.

If they had done their homework, they would have known that the 1.1 million property they targeted on Saturday night is owned by David Strang - the chief constable of Lothian and Borders Police.

And despite a burglary detection rate in the force of just 45 per cent, it seems certain that this time the officers will catch the culprits.

"Let's face it, it wasn't too clever of the thieves to pick that particular house," said one of the neighbours.

"When we came home on Saturday night the place was crawling with police. They knocked on quite a few doors ... they did the whole of our road and into the next street.

"I wouldn't think they'd have much chance of getting away with it, would you?"

Thieves broke into the property in the well-heeled suburb on Saturday evening at about 7:30pm.

Police said small personal items were taken, and a purse belonging to Mrs Strang was reported to be among the items stolen.

It is understood the chief constable was not at home when the thieves struck, but door-to-door inquiries were carried out in the street immediately after the raid.

Mr Strang's neighbour said he had also been burgled in recent years, but police took hours before sending officers to investigate. Those responsible were never traced.

"I've been burgled a few times. The police did come out but it was a few hours after I reported it. I don't suppose they'll get away. I'm sure [the police] will go for this one."

Last night, a police spokesman denied the chief constable had received preferential treatment and said each case was "judged on its own merits".

He said: "Inquiries are ongoing into a theft which resulted in some personal items being stolen.

"Officers attended immediately as the crime had just occurred and there was the possibility the suspects might still be in the area and committing further crimes.

"As is standard procedure, door-to-door inquiries were carried out near to the scene of the theft."

The three-storey house, which is understood to have a burglar alarm and a barred side window, is at the end of a row of salubrious Victorian properties in one of Edinburgh's most fashionable districts.

At the back of the property is a lane and garages and it is believed the thieves scaled a 5ft stone wall and scrambled across the large back garden.

Officers conducted door-to-door inquiries on all 32 houses on the street, as well as properties nearby, with neighbours describing the scene as having a "heavy police presence".

Last night, Lothian and Borders Police refused to answer detailed questions about the incident, including who raised the alarm, whether the burglar alarm was activated and why there was an immediate police response.

Mr Strang, 49, moved into the house five years ago while he was assistant chief constable of Lothian and Borders.

He became chief constable in March this year and was previously at the Metropolitan Police and in charge of Dumfries and Galloway Police.

PRIORITY SYSTEM GRADES CRIME REPORTS

LOTHIAN and Borders Police operate a grading system in response to members of the public who report crimes such as theft and housebreaking.

The system is designed so that officers can develop a proportionate response, which directly relates to the nature of each incident. If a member of the public calls for assistance, the complainer is asked a series of detailed questions to establish exactly what has happened. Whenever a victim of crime is concerned that they are in danger - if the culprit is still in the house or in the vicinity committing another crime, an officer is immediately sent to the scene. If the incident is not deemed urgent, it could take a number of hours before the victim is interviewed.

A report on Lothian and Borders Police in 2006-7 found there were 2,595 housebreakings in the force area, with a clear-up rate of 45 per cent.

Figures from the British Crime Survey show that overall, domestic burglaries in the past ten years are down from 756,000 to below 80,000. According to crime experts, much of that is due to the fact that TVs, DVDs and other goods are coming down in price.

It means it is not worth criminals' while to steal from people's houses and risk getting caught.